Grant Helps Poughkeepsie Hire Up To 5 New City Cops

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY — A federal grant of more than a half million dollars will enable the City of Poughkeepsie to hire more police officers. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a Democratic congressman from Cold Spring, and Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison, a Republican, announced the grant from the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services program Tuesday.

The city said it will be able to hire up to five new officers. A condition of the $630,000 grant was that the city's police force had to be staffed at certain level, something that had recently been achieved.

Maloney said he was proud to stand with Rolison and Police Chief Thomas Pape celebrating the new hires.

"Our brave police officers put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities, which is why I've made it my priority to fight for the resources they need to keep our streets safe," he said.

Rolison said he appreciated Maloney's determination to see that the city got to the point where it could use the federal funds.

"The congressman continues to be a strong advocate for the city and for addressing its needs," he said.

Officials said the city had already taken steps to retain officers and attract them from other departments, increasing its ranks from 79 to 89 officers.

Because that was achieved, the city was able to access $630,000 from the DOJ's funds that Maloney helped secure in 2015.

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